Bharti Airtel has 348.52 million plus subscribers including 171.53 million in rural India – grabbing 33.23 percent share in June 2018. The percentage of rural subscribers to the total subscribers of Airtel was 49.22, according to TRAI statistics.
One year ago, Airtel had 284.53 million subscribers including 141.50 million in rural areas — representing 27.75 percent share. 49.73 percent of its total subscriber was in rural India in June 2017.

Airtel India’s distribution channel is spread across 1.2 million outlets with network presence in 7,904 census and 786,129 non-census towns and villages in India covering approximately 95.3 percent of the country’s population with strong presence in rural areas.

Airtel India has 171,031 network towers including 154,531 mobile broadband towers. The number of mobile broadband base stations reached 347,642 in September 2018. Airtel was rated top on several speed tests conducted by independent agencies. Airtel has 263,507 Rkms of optical fiber to ensure quality for its mobile services.

Airtel’s India Capex was Rs 58,863 million towards mobile services – focusing on enhancing its data capacities. Airtel is the leading Indian telecom operator in terms of annual spending on mobile network.

Rural trends

Airtel India’s rural subscribers increased to 171.53 million in June 2018 from 156.95 million in March 2018, 147.89 million in December 2017, 141.99 million in September 2017, and 141.50 in June 2017, TRAI data shows.

Vodafone India’s rural subscribers increased to 119.49 million in June 2018 accounting for 23.15 percent share of India’s subscriber base in rural India.

Idea Cellular’s rural subscriber base increased to 119.23 million in June 2018 for a share of 23.10 percent.

Reliance Jio has 62.68 million subscribers in rural India, taking 12.14 percent share in the June quarter of 2018. Reliance Jio’s 29.12 percent subscribers are in rural areas of India.

BSNL, India-government owned telecom operator, has 39.24 million subscribers in rural India, accounting for 7.6 percent share of India’s subscriber base in rural India. BSNL’s rural presence shows that its 31.39 percent subscribers are in rural areas of the country.

Baburajan K